Yeah, I'm gonna have to go ahead and uhh... disagree with you that.
When talking about general smartphone user experience, how hardware and software interact is a relevant point. In fact, it's why the iPhone can exist despite vastly inferior specs to cutting edge Android phones.
That doesn't really apply to cameras though. Sony is arguably the fastest moving manufacturer in imaging. The NEX cameras are pretty amazing, and there are a few full frame NEX models coming out soon. Sony has some funky **** up its sleeve for A-mount cameras too. The Z1 looks to have a great camera, one of the best ones ever on a smartphone.
I'll break it down for you further. The iPhone camera, while good compared to many other phones, is not the best, looking at image quality, low light performance, speed, stabilization etc. So that's hardware. As for software... it's about as basic as a camera app can be. Personally, I don't really care for it to have much more (maybe a mode where I can manually select ISO), but just saying, other camera apps are far more full-featured.
All that said though, I use the Sony Playmemories app, and it does suck big time. In fact, I can't believe that Sony hasn't made a better app for QX10/QX100, because the app
i) takes a while to connect
ii) disconnects if you switch apps or go to sleep
iii) is pretty slow to changes in settings (aperture etc.)
iv) frequently has issues
The coupling of hardware and software makes the iPhone camera the best. Sony have a horrible reputation when it comes to writing their own software.
